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from the other executive leaders to Mika
'
s suggestion was
'
let
'
s just wait and
see what Sensei
[Ikeda] thinks
'
. Mika was adamant that Ikeda was not
expecting them to
'
just wait and see what he thought and that it was not his
decision anyway
.
The impact of an implicit belief that
'
'
in Soka Gakkai everything will be
OK
because Ikeda is there to check that decisions are sound was also noted by
an employee of Soka Gakkai some months earlier. While, like Mika, this was
someone who had lived overseas for many years, and who was often critical
of and frustrated with the
'
'
Japanese
'
way of doing things, although ethnically
Japanese herself, she said:
It is impossible for Sensei [Ikeda] to know everything that is going on; how
could he? It is that sort of attitude where nobody takes the initiative that
frightens me most about Sensei
s passing. Now we have a good leadership,
but what if that were not to be the case. This attitude really re
'
ects the general
way Japanese people are brought up. But what can you expect with the
education system we have in Japan where people learn that to be good means
to obey and follow orders, and being critical, suggestive or taking the
initiative is seen as un-Japanese. This general socialisation pattern is of course
also re
ected in Soka Gakkai in Japan as it is made up of Japanese people.
(Conversation, March 2004)
The perception that Ikeda would be aware if there were people who were
making inappropriate decisions nevertheless reassured many youth division
members in times of controversy where appeal to more factual knowledge was
not available (lackof transparency in the political decision-making process). Yet,
while this perception of Ikeda as their
was apparent, he was
clearly also inspiring them to take personal responsibility for their decisions,
urging them to speak up and to look critically at their support for Komeito.
Moreover, the dilemmas these young people felt in the face of political reality
went well beyond their organisation or their collective support for Komeito.
They pointed towards the inherent contradiction that exists in being an indi-
vidual in a social system that, despite its high ethical objectives, is having to
trust that those who have power and authority remain committed to the same
objectives despite the complexity and di
'
safety net
'
culty of the situation in which they
have to make decisions on others
'
behalf. Foucault so eloquently re-invoked
the Nietzschean idea that
'
always intertwines with those who wield power, and for those who support
such people of
'
truth
'
is not truth but a position of power.
'
Truth
rmation will always
underpin their support. The kind of organisational power that I am describ-
ing here is a continuous process that sways between how each individual acts
and re-acts within the whole organisational structure, usually in reaction to
external events that are beyond their reach to in
'
truth
'
forces beyond complete con
uence. This, on the one
hand, highlights the individual
s role in this process: how does one react, what
does one decide to do and speak up about, and with what objectives in mind?
'
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